Olney Libra ry is honored to welcome U.S. Army Captain Elizabeth Jane McCarthy (retired)\, who served in Vietnam in 1971. \;Many have read Kristin Hannah's The Women. Now learn about one nurse's real-life experience as a young woman in the midst of war.
\n"Elizabeth Jan e McCarthy joined the Army Nurse Corps in 1968 while she was attending Mas sachusetts General \;Hospital School of Nursing. After the six weeks o f basic training in Texas\, she was stationed at Walter Reed Army \;Me dical Center for ten months in the Recovery Room/Intensive Care Unit. Then \, at age 22\, with that minimal \;experience under her belt\, she was sent to the 95th Evacuation Hospital in DaNang\, South Vietnam where she& nbsp\;worked in the pre-operative and receiving area as a triage nurse\, p rioritizing patients based on \; severity of injuries and what medical treatments were needed. Sometimes\, all she could do was hold a soldier&rsquo\;s \;hand as he breathed his last breath.
\n... Captain Mc
Carthy came home and joined Vietnam Veterans Against the War in college. L
ooking back\, she realizes now that her difficulty adjusting back to civil
ian life and subsequent depression \;at the time were symptoms of undi
agnosed PTSD. She has remained active as a Veteran and returns to her home
\;town in Cohasset\, Massachusetts\, every year to march in the Memor
ial Day Parade to remember the high cost of \;war." \; --Montgomery County\, MD
BIO
Upon returning from the war in Vietnam\, U.S. ARMY LIEUTENANT JANE MCCARTHY went to college and nurs
e anesthesia school using the \;GI Bill to help pay for her education.
She joined the Army Reserves in Denver in 1972 and was in the reserves un
til 1986. She worked as a nurse anesthetist for several years. In 1980\, s
he returned to \;school and received her PhD in Physiology (1985) from
the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences \;in Bethesd
a. After completing a fellowship at Navy Medical Research Institute\, Lieu
tenant McCarthy joined the U.S. Public Health \;Service as a Commissio
ned Corps officer\, where she worked for the Food and Drug Administration
(FDA) as a \;regulatory scientist reviewing data for the approval of F
DA regulated products such as medical devices and drugs.
Lieutenant McCarthy retired from the US Publi
c Health Service Commissioned Corps in 2006. She continues to \;work i
n academia as a professor at the University of North Florida's Brooks C
ollege of Health. She served as the first woman Vetera
n on the \;Montgomery County Commission on Vetera
ns Affairs. Her primary
goal on the Commission was to improve \;care for Veterans in Montgome
ry County\, especially those returning from war experiencing the difficult
ies of posttraumatic stress. Lieutenant McCarthy currently resides in Olne
y\, Maryland.
Q&\;A and light refreshments to follow. \;
\nNO REGISTRAT
ION IS REQUIRED BUT SEATING IS LIMITED. Hope you can join us!
Qu estions about this program? \;Contact Olney Library at 240-77 3-9545.
\n\nSponsor ed by Friends of the Library\, Montgomery County\, MD\, Inc.\n
Accommodation Requests
\nTo request an accom modation\, contact the library branch where you want the accommodation. If they are unable to help\, or if you need an accommodation for an onlin e resource or event\, complete our Accommodation Request Form online or call Library Administration at 240-777 -0002.
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